From Addis with Love.

Getting through the custom in Ethiopia is a really fascinating experience and teaches you a lot about the country and the people. All excited about the perspective to see my Ben, I did not expect that it would take me half an hour to get through the gate to Zion! Here is what I learned from this:
1) In Ethiopia, nobody queues (coming from London, it is a whole new experience)
2) In Ethiopia, not that many people actually speak English
3) Having 5 people behind the counter does not speed things up
4) Having 6 people behind the counter does not speed things up either
When I finally got my stamp, I just couldn’t wait to see Mon Ben, and here he was, handsome as ever, grinning as Cheshire cat and just as fantastic as when I left him more than 2 months ago.

He drove me back to the compound in our white 4X4 Toyota cruiser, avoiding buses, donkeys, sheep, pedestrians and the eventual potholes. The compound is just AMAZING, green grass, weird trees, strange birds, huge turtles and lovely guards. Our house is 5 minutes away from the gate which is nice because I don’t feel too enclosed. It s big, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 study, 1 living room, 1 dining room, a big kitchen and a beautiful garden full of colours. It feels very cosy and there is flower everywhere.

For lunch, I meet our two employees, Almaz (life in Amahric) the cook and Tadu the cleaner. They are lovely with a good level of English and very very efficient. Rachid our gardener is old, don’t speak a word of English and is just so sweet I wish he was my grandfather. It is hard to believe he actually manages to take care of the garden by himself. After a lovely lunch I toured my new propriety. Man, it is just fantastic, it is big, there is a golf course, a small swimming pool, a stable (yes I did say a stable!), a tennis court and some beautiful buildings. I think Ben and I are going to be very happy here.

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